Confield

Hmmm. Autechre are one of those bands that you're 'supposed' to like. Why?

'Cos they make interesting, uncompromising music and don't give two figs about trends or fashion. Thing is, though, with this, their third long-player, it seems like they're intent on testing the patience of even their most devoted fans.

On first listen, Confield is absolutely confusing... almost to the point of being unlistenable. The dark, unpredictable rhythms and claustrophobic mood of 'Cfern' and 'Bine' are initially threatening, but begin to make sense after a couple of airings. However, there's simply too much studio trickery involved in tracks like 'Pen Expers' and 'VI Scose Poise' with little to offer anyone not fixated with daft drum programming – and the addition of quasi-ambient drones does little to lift the mood.

There is, thankfully, light at the end of the tunnel. The last three tracks return to something approaching the more 'accessible' Autechre of old: 'Eidetic Casein' and 'Uviol' eschew the earlier madness in favour of a more restrained, fragile form of sonic lunacy.

While Confield will appeal to lovers of the more perverse side of electronica, the majority will find the complete lack of structure and rhythm in the majority of tracks too perplexing and, indeed, too annoying.